Light and Dark
by boyohboy
Summary: Rey has left Master Skywalker in a desperate bid to bring Ben Solo back to the Light. On board The Supremacy she must convince Ben to admit to the conflict within him while she faces her own test against the Supreme Leader of the First Order. A retelling of the conclusion of the Rey/Ben Solo arc in The Last Jedi from the POV of each character. Spoilers for The Last Jedi.
1. Chapter 1

Rey

The elevator zoomed up through the central shaft of _The Supremacy_ to the highest point of the super star destroyer, the supreme leader's throne room, to the rear of the bridge and the fore of the rocket engines, far above the hangar bay she had arrived at. Intense white light shone through the slats in the elevator walls, Rey glanced at her captor, his dark cape and hair a welcome respite from the glare of light beaming from the walls around her. The cart was big enough to hold several people comfortably and yet Rey felt like she was awkwardly close to Ben Solo. She glanced down at the floor, back up and moved closer.

"You don't have to do this, I feel the conflict in you Ben," she said, as she stepped forward to face him. "It's tearing you apart. Ben, that night, when we touched hands I saw your future. Just the shape of it but _solid and clear_ as I see you standing in front of me now…..you'll not bow before Snoke….you'll turn, I know you will."

She looked up into his deep, dark eyes. They looked sad, tired, impassive, like they wanted to hope but had seen too much darkness to dare to do so. He towered over her, everything about him was big where she was petite, his face, his broad shoulders, huge chest and arms. Rey regarded his body then her eyes looked back up into his, in silence. Vaguely she pictured the time they'd connected when he'd been naked from the waist up. _Why am I thinking about that now?_

" _I'll help you_ ," she said, her voice no louder than a whisper.

"I saw something too," he replied, breaking the silence, though it wasn't an uncomfortable one. "Because of what I saw I know when the moment comes _you'll_ be the one to turn. You'll stand with me, Rey, together we'll destroy our enemies and became the new rulers of the galaxy. I saw who your parents are."

She backed away from him in silence. Her initial thoughts were that he was lying to her, trying to deflect from the conflict she sensed within him, the battle between dark and light that was raging in his heart at that very moment. But something about the way he said it told her he was being sincere, that he believed every word he'd told her. _Was he mistaken? Did his uncertainty cloud his vision? Or is it me who's made a mistake. No,_ Rey knew what she'd seen, she'd felt it as truly as she felt his fingers against hers that night in the hut. His touch had been delicate, his fingers softer and warmer than she'd expected. But still the proclamation of his own vision unsettled her. _Why would he be able to see what I could not?_ _Why could he see my parents?_

She felt vulnerable but nevertheless there was something strangely reassuring that he'd used her name. It might've been the first time she'd heard him say it, _and it was probably the first time I used his name, his real name._

The elevator came to a sudden stop and it was only then that Rey realised how fast they'd been moving. Her arms were held behind her back, handcuffed. Ben stepped forward, and she felt his hand push gently against the small of her back. They walked like that for a few steps, Rey upright, hands bound, pretending not to notice his hand resting on her back, comforting her. Then, when they stepped into the light his hand moved, grasping her by the arm though not very tightly. To anyone in front of them the shift in position would've been imperceptible.

Rey absorbed the scene before her. They were in a huge dome shaped chamber; crimson red from top to bottom and completely windowless. The floor beneath was immaculate black onyx, and the contrast in colour was startling and beautiful – black and red, violent colours. The room had a beautiful symmetry to it, as they crossed the walkway that lead them out from the elevator she saw two raised platforms equidistant from the centre of the chamber. One had a large, round glass mounted on it, the opposite a control panel the same colour as the floor. Gradually Rey noticed there were shapes around the far edge of the room right where the floor gave way to an abyss between itself and the walls of the chamber. They were statues all clad in the same crimson as the walls, camouflaging them, then she realised with a start of fear they weren't statues at all, they were guards. There were three either side of the room and although they wore the same crimson armour from head to foot Rey noticed that there were subtle differences in its design and their weaponry.

Directly ahead of them, at the far end of the chamber atop a dais stood an enormous, resolute throne. It was bordered by a black solid wall that extended up almost to the high ceiling, jutting out against the crimson walls, seeming like a gigantic extension of the throne itself, making it seem even larger than it already was. As they approached it Rey felt Kylo Ren loosen his hand and heard him go to one knee behind her, bending the heel to his Master. Rey carried on walking alone, dread rising inside her. _No, he already has the undeserved loyalty of the man behind me, he won't have my fear too._

The supreme leader of the first order and de facto emperor of the galaxy sat lazily back upon his throne. His body was eerily gigantic; tall and slender and yet broader than any natural human's could be, garbed in a simple cloth-of-gold kimono. Even from afar Rey could see that there was something abhorrently wrong. His skin was a wrinkled patchwork stretched taut against deteriorating muscle and bone, simultaneously brought about and maintained by the corruption that spread from inside. His grin was extremely disconcerting to Rey, _no man living such a vile existence had the right to smile so widely._

"Young Rey, so good to meet you at last."

Rey stopped in the centre of the room, even from this distance he seemed to loom over her, completely helpless as she was, weaponless and bound. _I have the light_ , she thought, calming herself. _Fate brought me here, showed me my way, and I am not alone._ Her mind pictured the man behind her, down on his knees.

"Well done my good and faithful apprentice! My faith in you is restored," Snoke raised an arm from his throne and spread his fingers wide at Rey. For a moment her heart raced as she expected to feel herself jerk forward but just as quickly the lightsaber, Luke's lightsaber, flew from somewhere behind her and into the supreme leader's grasp. She glanced behind her and realised it had been plucked from Ben's belt, he too was looking up in surprise. For a second their eyes locked. _Strength_. Then she turned back to Snoke.

"Come closer child," as he said the words Rey heard the cuffs around her wrist click open and fall to the floor, she loosened her stiff arms and massaged her wrists where they'd been bound. Snoke placed the lightsaber down on the armrest of his throne, pointed away from him. "Darkness rises…and Light to meet it! I warned my young apprentice that as his strength grew, his equal in the Light would rise. Skywalker, I assumed, _wrongly_."

Snoke seemed to be enjoying all this, still grinning as he explained himself to Rey, glaring coldly back at him. That seemed to amuse him even more, she couldn't take his smirk a second longer.

"You underestimate Skywalker, and Ben Solo _and me_. It will be your downfall."

Snoke looked taken aback his face became startled and worried at what Rey had said.

"Is there something you have foreseen that I have not?! Something I have missed? A weakness in my apprentice? Is that that why you came? " Snoke started to laugh at her once more. A look of cold distaste returned to Rey's face as she regarded the man in front of her. "Young fool, did you truly think that you shared some deep connection to my apprentice?"

Rey kept her face impassive, she wouldn't give Snoke any satisfaction of seeing her even slightly thrown off balance. She couldn't see him yet somehow she knew Ben's bowed head had snapped up the moment Snoke had mentioned the Force bond.

"It was _I_ who bridged your minds. I stoked Ren's conflicted soul, I knew that he was not strong enough to hide it from the girl who defeated him. And _you_ were not wise enough to resist the bait. Day by day I watched as he drew you in, as you grew closer to him, laying your weaknesses bare before him. Touching really, and just as I planned. I said _closer_."

Ice cold chill spread through Rey's body. Snoke couldn't have been telling the truth, it was impossible. The bond she'd felt with Ben had been real, natural, she'd felt it and he'd felt it and no one could take that away from them. She felt her entire body grow tense and stiff, her breathing felt strained as though a sudden pressure had engulfed her. Slowly at first, then quickly she lifted off the floor and began to move forward, the tips of her feet sliding against the polished onyx, powerless to stop her. Dread began to spread to every corner of her body, her heart was thumping in her chest as she slid up the dais, the malevolent being sitting before her coming closer and closer. The insidious force that gripped her only ceased once she was right in front of Snoke, his face inches from hers and at a height with it even though she was standing and he sitting on his great throne.

Snoke lifted a long, slender arm and placed his gnarled hand on her cheek. Rey fought against it but the pressure around her body still held its iron grip, holding her in place, she was completely at Snoke's mercy, he could break her if he chose. She tried to recall her time on the island when Master Luke had told her to breathe, to focus on nothing else and to reach out with the force. It had been much easier on the tranquil island, hundreds of feet above the waves than it was with the supreme leader's hideous features swimming before her eyes, his cold, visceral hand caressing her cheek, sharp nails scratching her skin.

The helplessness reminded her of the time she'd awoken on Starkiller base with the masked visage of Kylo Ren staring blankly back at her. She'd been powerless then too, tied down in front of a monster that had stalked her unrelenting through the forest outside Maz Kanata's palace. Then he'd taken off his helmet and there wasn't a monster at all only a man. A man with deep dark eyes, troubled eyes. _Don't be afraid,_ he'd told her, _I feel it too._ But what had he felt, way back then?

"And now you will give me Skywalker." Snoke commanded her, through rotting teeth. Up close he was even more hideous, there was something wholly unnatural about his face that unsettled her stomach. Corruption had spread all across it, and he had deep scars across his head and right cheek where the bone appeared to have vanished completely and his face collapsed in on itself making his chin stick out obscenely. He gave off a subtle musty, damp smell up close. But she wouldn't be afraid.

"I won't give you anything," she hissed back, defiantly.

His already twisted face contorted into an expression of pure loathing and irritation.

"Yes. You. Will. And then I will kill you with the cruellest stroke."

His hand caressed her cheek as she moved backwards, slowly at first then faster. Instead of sliding down the dais she felt her feet leave the floor entirely and she was levitating up to the perfect centre of the throne room. Once there her legs and shoulders seemed to lock in place, as if bound by invisible, immovable shackles. Rey felt her chest puff out, her spine was bending forward and her head and neck backwards in a perfect arc. In a moment she was overcome with terror as her spine continued to bend backwards, Snoke would snap her like a wooden puppet.

Then it seemed to stop, her body was held stiff in mid-air, but then the pain hit her. It split through her body all at once everywhere, it was excruciating, inescapable, every muscle in her body was cramping and it seemed as though her bones were being ripped from the rest of her. She tried to fight it but there was nothing to grasp, nothing to hold on to. She tried to focus but the pain was too intense, Snoke was too strong.

" _Give me everything_."

Then she began to scream.


	2. Chapter 2

Ben

He wasn't sure how long the screaming lasted. It could've been hours but more likely it was minutes, stretched out by the agonizing pain Rey would be experiencing. At first Ben had lifted his head and looked up at her as she hung suspended in the centre of the throne room, limbs splayed out like a marionette puppet held by invisible strings. Then she began to scream and he'd bowed his head once more and closed his eyes. She would have to endure this alone. He felt numb.

He still could barely believe that she'd come to him. After their last encounter through the Force bond, when their hands had touched and Master Luke had found them together in the hut he'd thought he would never see her again, that Luke would've made her sever their connection or block it out. _Instead she came to me_. He'd known it was her the moment the troops had informed him that an escape pod had been launched deliberately into _The Supremacy_. His heart had thumped in his chest, so many thoughts and feelings had rushed through his head. He had been scared. Scared for her.

There was a loud thud as Rey fell to the floor, the screaming finally over. Ben took the moment to rise and stand upright. He regarded her, limp and twitching on the floor. He knew the pain she would be feeling and he also knew that she would be strong enough to overcome it. Snoke was speaking again, although more to himself than anyone else it seemed. Ben glared at him on the opposite end of the throne room. He began feeling his emotions again. Cold fury.

"Skywalker is wiser than I could have ever imagined!" declared Snoke, apparently he was delighted by what he'd seen in Rey's mind. "We shall grant him the death he desires, after the resistance has been destroyed we shall go to him and annihilate his entire island. Along with the remains of the Jedi order."

Rey had forced herself to her feet, though it appeared every motion had caused her pain. Ben knew her well enough to know that the fire in her was far from out, she extended her arm at Snoke and the lightsaber hilt at his side had shot forwards but just before it reached her grasp Snoke gave a lazy flick of his hand and the hilt swung away from her, flew in a semicircle around her head then smacked against the side of her skull. Rey ducked down and cried out in pain, gripping the side of her head in her hand. The lightsaber hilt flew back over to Snoke who replaced it down at his side. Only in his blindest rage had Kylo Ren ever dared to raise a hand to his Master, not the cold, calculating anger from which he drew his strength but in uncontrolled fury. It always ended in his own pain and humiliation.

"Such spunk!" declared Snoke, mockingly.

Before Ben could react Rey reached out towards him, his own lightsaber shot forward from his belt and into her open hand. She grasped it and ignited the crucifix, crimson blade. The guards on either side of the room sprung forward but before they had time to raise their weapons Rey was moving, not by her own will, paralysed, tense once more. She slid along the floor right up to the looking-glass mounted on the right-side of the room.

"And still that fiery spit of hope! You have the spirit of a true Jedi," proclaimed Snoke. "But see, child."

Rey looked down helpless into the looking glass still holding his lightsabre two-handed at her shoulder. From where he stood Ben couldn't see what the looking-glass showed her but he could guess. Even at this very moment the resistance light-craft were making a desperate escape from their crippled flagship and being blown to pieces as they did so by General Hux. _She cares too deeply for her friends, that could break her_. Ben suspected that Rey would give her own life to save the people she cared about. Suddenly he pictured his mother, as clearly as he'd seen her on the bridge of the rebel flagship seconds before it had been split open by a proton torpedo and thrown her out into the vacuum of space. _For me_ _there is no one left to save_.

"All is lost, the resistance is finished," declared Snoke.

Rey turned to face Ben suddenly. He stared back at her impassively.

"Don't let him do this, you can save them Ben, you can set things right- arrghhhhh!" Rey was cut off as she was yanked into the air and thrown back down into the centre of the room. The lightsaber fell from her hand and slid, along with Rey, across the floor, coming to a halt feet from where he stood.

Ben stared down at her, frowning. She deserved better than this. Rey was the most naturally-gifted Force-user he'd ever encountered, maybe even stronger than himself and Master Luke, whereas Snoke had had hundreds of years to hone his own formidable power. He knew what he had to do. He reached down and picked up his lightsaber.

"You think you can turn him? Pathetic child! I cannot be betrayed I cannot be beaten. I sense his clear resolve. Son of Darkness, heir apparent to Lord Vader, where once there was conflict I now sense clarity, where there was weakness, strength. Complete your training and _fulfil your destiny_."

There was a time when he would have been elated to hear his master bestow those titles upon him. Now he felt nothing. He looked down at Rey as she turned once more to look at him. There was still such a fire in her eyes, her deep, hazel-brown eyes. They were the same colour as her hair. His heart started to thump in his chest, he could feel the goose bumps spreading all over his body. _Does she know what comes next?_ Ben's eyes flicked up and glared at the supreme leader, he moved toward where Rey lay defenceless on the ground and at the same moment the lightsaber hilt on the arm of Snoke's throne began to spin round slowly, as if by an invisible hand.

"I sense his mind. I see his every intent. I see him turning the lightsaber, he ignites his blade and STRIKES DOWN HIS TRUE ENEMY!"

Snoke's prophecy came true the moment he finished speaking it. The blue blade at his side exploded into existence, turned so to be igniting into Snoke's side. The lightsaber burst through corrupted skin, organ and bone, searing through vertebrae and muscle. Snoke's body tensed, his eyes widened in shock, mouth open in silent disbelief. Slowly his head turned to look at the blade that ran through his body above the waist. Rey had turned to look too, she stared in stunned silence as the blade moved forward in a perfect line, as it moved it shredded through Snoke's abdomen and arms still resting on the throne.

The supreme leader's dismembered body fell to pieces at the foot of his throne as Ben willed the lightsaber forwards. As it reached her Rey lifted an arm and grabbed the hilt from the air and turned to face him, gripping the lightsaber in her hands. Her face was shock at first then comprehension. She looked at him as though seeing him for the first time. Ben couldn't tell if it was killing Snoke or the way Rey looked at him in that moment that made his heart thump in his chest. He held out a gloved hand to her, still lying on the floor before him. She grasped it, pulled herself up and stood facing him. He ignited his blade, heard it crackle to life and then they just stared at each other; she holding her blue lightsaber and he his red. Their eyes locked once more, connected by the Force itself, both knew what came next but in that moment the only thing that mattered to each of them was the person standing in front of the other.

The guards had sprung to life the moment the lightsaber had sliced through their Master. To Ben it seemed like time had stood still as he and Rey stared at each other and the guards had seemed far off, never getting closer. Now they were bearing down on them fast; blades, staffs and nunchucks raised. Ben and Rey broke their gaze simultaneously. Spinning round they both took a step back so that they were almost back to back, only a few inches separated them as the guards closed in, six on two, three on Rey's side and three on Ben's.

One guard reached Ben ahead of the others, seconds before the first to reach Rey. He swung his lightsaber through a semicircle one way then the other then struck down once the guard was unsure from which side he meant to attack. With lightning speed the blade swung down on the guard, searing through his raised staff and burning him from shoulder to hip. Maintaining the blade's momentum he swung it round in an arc and plunged it into the black onyx of the floor. It exploded in a flash of blinding red-white light, molten stone screaming around the blade. The other two guards leapt back in fright and for a precious few moments he had time to regroup, to check their positions and his own. In another plane in his mind he saw Rey fighting the other three guards behind him, initially she'd gone down to one knee as they approached, striking at their waist and legs, throwing them off for fear of being caught by the unstoppable weapon.

Now she turned quickly and saw the second guard approaching Ben, he'd known they were both coming at once from either side, trying to force him to focus his attack on one side and leave himself open on his other. Now he knew he was protected. Focusing on the guard to his left he swung his lightsaber up over his head, blocking the staff that was swinging down on him, meeting it with his saber horizontal above his head. At the same moment Rey thrust her own blade forward and it seared through the chest of the guard on his right, the blue light exploding through his crimson armour, through his abdomen and out through his spine. The guard went down as Rey yanked the saber out from him and turned again to meet her own attackers who were reeling towards her once more.

Ben was glad she'd made the first kill defending him. His heart was beating twice as fast now, adrenaline was soaking through his body, it was on. As he thrust forward to break the stalemate with his guard he grabbed the staff with one hand, pushing it off with his lightsaber in the other and pulled the guard off balance. The guard tried to pull his weapon back but Ben leveraged the staff so it twisted round to horizontal then swung down on it with his own weapon. The metal of the staff splintered but didn't fully shatter, nonetheless the guard lost a grip on it and fell backwards barely holding on to his weapon with one hand.

As he'd twisted the staff horizontally he'd felt Rey's body pressing against his own. In another plane in his mind he saw that all three guards were bearing down on her, forcing her back behind him, one spun round from the side to land in-between the other two bringing his weapon down with him. Rey managed to meet it with her own blade but left herself exposed to the other two. As the guard pressed her down she'd leaned against Ben's back for support. As Ben had brought his lightsaber down to smash his guard's staff he swung it on in an arc and conducted a force-thrust through the blade. As the saber swung to his side the thrust swung off in an arc behind him and caught all three of the guards in front of Rey and they were pushed back violently by the invisible force.

Rey launched a front kick at the centre guard as he spun away, sending him crashing backwards to the floor. She'd already been pressed against his back so to steady herself and thrust forward she grabbed Ben's thigh, and as he swung his body down with his saber she'd kicked forward. It had all happened in seconds, the guards careering off, the staff breaking, Rey using his own body to push forward. Fighting was an art, a dance, and they moved with close to perfect synchronicity. As well as their natural fighting talent somehow they were bonded, they could anticipate the other's moves, positions and vulnerabilities. Ben couldn't understand it but he knew, didn't have time to think about it, he was perfectly in the moment focused on his surroundings and the here and now. But in the back of his mind he knew one thing: Snoke had overestimated his own power, he hadn't created the bond that existed between him and Rey.

His thigh was still smarting from where Rey's hand had been. She'd grasped his thick quad and calf muscle and he could still feel the tight squeeze she'd given it to steady herself. It was such a good pain. It seemed to give him more strength as he leapt forwards and attacked the guard closest to him, the one whose torso he'd previously sliced down on. The battle took Rey and Ben to opposite sides of the room, the guard that Rey had kicked to the floor had pushed himself back up into a fighting stance and joined the fray fighting Ben; one of the guards battling him had already been wounded badly and between himself and Rey the guards had judged that he would put up the stronger fight. They were probably right, Rey had bested him in single combat before but he had more experience fighting multiple skilled opponents at once, it wasn't as though Master Luke could send several fighters against her at once, in this meleé he was glad to draw some of the guards away from her.

Snoke's personal guard were a group of the most skilled fighters in hand-to-hand combat, their discipline was unmatched and they were utterly without mercy. But they weren't force users and Ben was a superb fighter himself, violent and composed, brutal and intelligent. The three guards closed in on him, two at his side and one at his front. Each of them brandished long staffs tipped with blades of cortosis, one of the few lightsaber-resistant substances in the galaxy, conducting crackling, angry, orange sparks through them. Like their armour each guard's weapon was slightly varied, one that appeared to be a two-handed sword, one with several barbed blades, one that could split into two smaller twin blades.

He lurched towards the guard ahead of him, forcing the other two to close the distance between them. He swung his lightsaber wide from his left side, the guard caught it with his sword and through it off, swinging his own blade, one handed towards Ben. Ben stepped back, spun round, turning kick to the guard on his left, attacked the other with his lightsaber, their weapons crashed together once, twice, three times, neither landing a blow on the other. Stepped back. Took in his surroundings. From another plane in his mind he saw a different guard swing an electrically-charged whip at the blue lightsaber before him, somehow it coiled around the blade and the guard slowly began dragging the weapon and Rey closer to him.

He snapped back to his own surroundings, the guards were on him again. He lashed out at them, diving in close with deadly swings of his saber then ducking out, always moving, always looking for a space. Never allow them to form up or work together. Break them apart then look for an opening. Strike. Back off. Break apart. Opening, strike, away. The immaculate throne room was transformed to a violent hellscape, the floor burning from constant clashes with lightsabers, flames growing and engulfing the surrounding fixtures, dead guards thrown down, blood pooling round their broken bodies from grizzly, instantly-cauterizing lightsaber wounds.

The three guards had finally manged to surround Ben once more, he raised his lightsaber to head-height and held it two handed, pointing it threateningly at each of the three guards as he circled around his own compacting space, daring them to approach him. He heard a yelp of pain from his right and turned to look at its source. Rey had wasted one of her guards but the other was pressing in on her, holding two twin blades in each hand he had caught her lightsaber with one of his blades and sliced viciously into her bicep with the other. The cut was deep and instantly flared as blood seeped from it.

The sight of her blood, the sound of her scream, suddenly the only thing that existed to him in the throne room was the girl on the other side of it. His body became hypersensitive, he didn't need to look at his attackers, he could sense them moving through the fabric of the universe. His mind calmed, cold clarity. Pause, calm. Vaguely he was aware of a burning cable hanging from the ceiling nearby. He reached out through the force, it swung towards the guards, distracting them for a fraction of a second. It was all he needed. He swung his lightsaber over his head, took two strides towards the nearest guard and clashed their blades together, pure crimson light searing into unbreakable, scorched metal. Barely pausing he threw off the guard's weapon in one violent jerk then swung his saber with lightning speed and thrust it up through the guard's torso. In a second he went limp, dead weight falling on the lightsaber, Ben pulled the blade out of him in a single, sharp yank then turned to face the other two, who hadn't dared to approach.

He came at them, focusing his ferocity at one, whilst keeping the other at bay by setting the burning cable on him with his mind. The guard was fast, deflecting his unrelenting strikes with superb efficiency, Ben had to admire his speed, strength and stamina. But still he pushed the guard closer to the raised control panel on this side of the room. Distracting him with relentless attacks from his lightsaber, Ben suddenly wheeled away from the guard sending him spiralling to one side. The guard lost balance, fell sideways into one of the exposed ventilator shafts, disappeared down it then reappeared momentarily in a gruesome spurt of red gore; a mix of armour, blood and guts.

His last guard had managed to creep up behind him and in one fluid motion threw his staff over Ben's neck and squeezed. Ben went down to his knees, thrown off by his own erratic motion, he lost his grip on his lightsaber as he struggled to wrap his fingers around his enemy's weapon with his free hand. He pulled desperately, gasping for air, using all his strength just to allow a small stream through. He struggled but the Praetorian guard was unflinching, he pulled his weapon up into Ben's neck with all his body strength and dug his knee into the small of Ben's back at the same time. The pain in his back was throbbing and getting worse, Ben clenched his teeth trying desperately to throw off the staff across his neck. His vision was starting to blur, his windpipe was crushed, and then from far off he heard a girl call out _BEN!_ Something silvery flew towards him. He released his hand from the staff around his neck and reached out, putting all his faith in the girl who had shouted his name.


	3. Chapter 3

Rey

The guards were brutal fighters. They forced themselves into every opening she left for them and jabbed at her with twisted, razor-sharp blades, laser-imbued whips and long, spear-tipped staffs that might have been scythes or axes. She already had a nasty cut on her right arm with droplets of blood flying from it every time she swung around. But she couldn't feel the pain – too much adrenaline for that. Her training had served her well, she'd already cut down two guards and was locked in combat with her final opponent. But she was drained, the guards had been outmatched by her skill and speed but they had had numbers on their side, and it was telling.

The guard she was facing had manged to lock her lightsaber in an awkward position with his intricate, cortosis-forged weapon, slowly melting under the heat from the lightsaber but not fast enough to allow Rey to yank it free. She was trapped, and the guard was forcing himself closer to her, soon he would be able to strike at her face with his free hand. _Calm. Feel. Reach out._

The solution came to her at once. Gripping the hilt of her lightsaber she pressed her thumb down and in an instant the blue blade vanished. The guard stumbled as the lock he'd held the saber in gave way to nothing. Rey let go of the hilt. Dropped herself to the floor. Feet from the floor she grabbed the saber hilt, pressed down, a brilliant sword of blue erupted forth. She spun round on the ground, slicing through the guard's lower legs. Maintaining her motion she spiralled round, rose up, and gave another swing of her blade at the guard this time slicing through his neck. The stunned guard fell backwards and disappeared into the abyss between the floor and the wall of the throne room.

Rey spun round, as she'd fought her last guard she'd been dimly aware of a disturbance, a constriction, though not of her own body. Turning, she saw Ben on the other side of the room, he was on his knees, the guard behind chocking him mercilessly. Rey deactivated her lightsaber and flung it towards him.

"BEN!" she yelled.

The hilt sailed over to him in an arc, reaching out he caught it one handed. The saber ignited. Erupted into the head of the guard chocking him and out the other side. Ben closed off the blade and the guard dropped, a charred black crater smoking from either side of his helm where his eye socket ought to have been. Ben gasped for breath. Rey ran over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. Almost reflexively his own hand went up and held the back of hers, even as he lay coughing and gasping for oxygen. Slowly he looked up at her. His deep dark eyes stared up into her own. His long black hair was soaked in sweat, dripping down into his face. She moved her hand from his shoulder and held it out to him, mirroring their positions at the start of the battle.

Before reaching up he pulled the black leather glove from his hand, let it drop to the floor. Slowly he opened his hand and grasped her own. For a moment they stood, gazing at each other. An electricity seemed to pass through Rey's body, a pulse that set goose bumps all over her body and chills deep down her spine. It was the same as when they had touched hands in the hut, except now there bond was reinforced with blood and fire. All around them the throne room barely stood, engulfed in flames, the floor deeply scarred and cracked and littered with hacked corpses.

Ben stood over her, a head higher, staring down. His face was inches from her own, she reached up and gently ran a finger across his face, tracing the scar she had given him in the woods on Starkiller base. She remembered his blood on the snow. His hand came up, large enough to cover one side of her head. His fingers were warm against her cheek. She stared into the deep black eyes, he looked nervous, unsure. Slowly their faces came together. Rey looked down at his big, rouge lips. They met her own. He was warm and moist, the sweat from his face mingled with that on hers. His hand gripped one side of her face gently and hers ran through his long, black locks. Time stopped. An age could've passed before they finally broke apart. Something in Rey's heart told her this was _right_ , she'd never been more sure of anything.

They broke apart and regarded each other once again. Ben's hand went down from her face and he finally turned away, looking over at the great throne. He walked over to it, Rey felt his hand caress her own as he let it slide from her grasp. It made her feel oddly sad.

Ben was drawn over to the supreme leader, whose head and torso lay lifeless on the ground, the rest of his body in several pieces still lounging on his throne. Rey watched Ben staring down in disbelief at his old Master, as though checking he were actually dead. At the same moment she glanced over at the looking-glass where Snoke had shown her the resistance fleeing and being picked off like sitting ducks. She ran over to it. For a moment it was clear and then a flash of green and an explosion burst across the glass. The attack was still occurring, this wasn't over.

"The resistance!" she said suddenly, turning away from the looking-glass to look at Ben. "We have to save them, order your men to stop firing."

He slowly turned to her, looking triumphant now as he stood over Snoke's remains. Then his face changed, conflicted, as though registering that she'd spoken but not comprehending the words.

"Ben! We need to help them, they're being slaughtered we have to act now!" she repeated. _What was wrong with him?_

His eyes found hers and finally he spoke.

"Let the past die."

Rey stood staring. Now she was the one who didn't understand.

"All of it," he continued. "The resistance, the Jedi, Skywalker. Let them all die."

"Don't do this Ben," the words came to her unthinking, she was shaking her head in denial.

"No…. _No!_ You're still holding ON, _let go_!"

Rey took a step back as he lost the composure in his voice.

"Always clinging on to the past so hard, holding on to your parents. But you know, don't you? You've always known. Say it. Tell me who your parents were," he said it so casually but the words were knives to Rey's heart. Tears swelled in her eyes, she was strong, she was tough but he couldn't do this to her, it was too much.

"They were no one."

Her voice broke as the words came pouring from her mouth, tears running down her cheeks.

"Exactly. Filthy junk traders who sold you for drinking money, dead in a pauper's grave in the Jakku desert. You were _nothing_ to them Rey," the words smacked her like a punch in the stomach, it was too much to hear him tell her the truth she'd always known in her heart so thoughtlessly. "You have no place in this story Rey. You come from nothing. You're nothing."

He paused, the silence pressed in on her, tears still swam in her eyes but he waited until she looked up at him again before adding: "But not to me."

Her heart thumped faster in her chest. The carnage still surrounded them, standing before the semi-occupied throne. His arm extended towards her and he opened a gloved hand.

"Join me," he said, simply.

The flames around the room glistened off the black onyx and danced in his deep, black eyes, bathing half of his face in bright orange light. When they were together Rey had felt undefeatable, elated, Queen of the Galaxy. Now that was exactly what he offered her. The Force had meant for them to be together, abhorred by conflict between them it had cracked Starkiller base asunder to stop them fighting. Surely this was the way forward.

" _Please_ …"

She knew what this meant to him, she could hear the plea in his voice. He wanted this badly, he _needed_ her to take his hand. He was suddenly Ben Solo again, not the fierce warrior with the crucifix blade but the frightened little boy who's Master had turned on him, whose family had abandoned him. All he needed was someone who understood him, someone to tell him he wasn't alone. Rey looked down at his open hand, the gloved hand, the ungloved one that had held her face so gently was down at his side. She made her choice. She reached out.

The lightsaber hilt sprung forth from his belt at once. " _NO!"_ he cried, reaching forward with his already extended arm. The lightsaber came to a stop mid-air, directly in between them. Rey was already grasping it with the Force but it wouldn't move any closer to her, she stared fiercely at it, willing it towards her with all her might. She could hear Kylo Ren struggling too, trying desperately to pull the weapon back towards him, his gloved fingers clawing at the air, his arm tensed.

The stalemate went on and on but neither could let go, the galaxy depended on it. The metal began to emit a terrible grinding, screeching sound. White-blue light erupted ferociously from the hilt, but not as a perfect blade of energy instead streaming from cracks all around the metal. There was a blinding white explosion, Rey's ears rang as she was hauled off the ground, the air slamming out of her, feeling as though she had smacked into a concrete wall. The ground rushed up to meet her back and skull. Everything went black.


	4. Chapter 4

Kylo Ren

He was dazed and confused when he finally came too. Lying on his side bright orange flames swam in his eyes, blurry at first then coming into focus. He felt the heat from a nearby fire warming his face, covered with dried sweat. He reached up to rub the back of his aching skull, cushioned by his long black hair. He pushed himself onto his feet, surveying the ruin all around him. The fires were still burning, though they had died down, sparks were now falling from above, he noticed Hux was standing near Snoke's throne, gaping at the remains of the supreme leader, whose lower body had now fallen from his throne to join the rest of him on the ground. Suddenly he pictured Rey followed by the memory of a blinding white-blue explosion and terrible screeching. His head darted around the room, searching, scanning the corpses but amongst all the ruin and death he could not see her anywhere. He felt panicked, there was a lump in the back of his throat – _she's escaped, she could be anywhere, how much time had passed?_ _I need her back_.

"What…..What happened?" asked Hux, his voice trembling, confused.

A series of images flashed through Ren's head – he and Rey in the elevator, Snoke on his throne, the blue lightsaber slicing through him, Rey and himself fighting the guards in a brutal melee, Rey's face getting closer and closer to his own, her lips against his own and finally holding his gloved hand out to her. She'd reached out but not to take it. An emptiness fell upon him, followed by burning rage.

"The girl, she killed Snoke. Where is she? We have to search the ship and get her back," demanded Ren, he had to think clearly, there was still a chance to salvage everything.

"She escaped in Snoke's personal shuttle and made off towards the remains of the resistance on Crait," said Hux.

 _Anger. Why hadn't she been stopped? Why was she still holding on to the past, on to the resistance? She could've been the leader of a New Order…We could have stood together._ A disturbance told Ren that something was wrong, the ship had sustained serious damage since he'd blacked out, he became aware of a siren screeching far off and there were other sounds; deep, echoing, rattling pressure. The sounds of space invading the ship.

" _The Supremacy_ had sustained fatal damage," informed Hux, as if answering the question in Ren's mind. After he finished speaking Hux peered down at the fatally injured corpse of his supreme leader. It almost bought a smile to Ren's face.

He didn't care what had happened to the ship – it didn't matter, all that mattered was the resistance. And Rey. But they were one and the same for now. He had to get the resistance under control.

"We need to stop the resistance from escaping. Prepare your men for a ground assault and ready my shuttle," ordered Ren, he was already walking away from Hux towards the elevator on the other side of the room. He knew Hux wasn't making a move behind him and it irritated him.

"You would _dare_ to presume to command _my_ troops?!" exclaimed Hux, his voice had taken on its familiar authoritarian drawl that Ren hated as much as the man himself. "The supreme leader is _dead_ , we have no supre-"

Ren had stopped dead still at the word 'dead' just before the collar of Hux's black, immaculate uniform had tightened so hard around his neck it cut him off and started strangling him. The general reached up to claw at his neck with gloved hands, his face starting to turn purple. Ren turned to face him, his anger was spilling over, his face contorted, scowling at the struggling man, his jaw clenched.

"The supreme leader is dead?" he demanded of Hux, through gritted teeth.

Hux struggled to draw breath, his fingers trying desperately to pull at the collar of his uniform. He started to mouth words, then rasped them slowly, obediently: "Long…..live….the supreme….leader."

Ren continued glaring at Hux but his mouth twisted up into a smile. _Good_.

The resistance had fled to an old base long-abandoned by the rebellion from the time of the Great Civil War. His generals and strategists had assured him it was unlikely the base had any intact-defence systems but to be sure Ren had ordered that they land just beyond the range of any long-range surface cannons. He'd deployed from _The Supremacy_ with a legion of stormtroopers, housed in the massive AT-M6s that had been ferried down to the surface of Crait, led by his command shuttle.

Snoke's mega-star destroyer had been crippled in space, bisected along with twenty star destroyers ten times smaller than itself, by a resistance ship on a suicide mission at light speed. Ren thought it a fitting testament to Hux's arrogance that he'd allowed the undefended resistance flagship to remain unharmed long enough for it to decimate their fleet in one swift manoeuvre. Even now _The Supremacy_ was being evacuated, its gargantuan size was the only reason it had not been outright destroyed, the larger of the two segments the ship had been split into may yet be salvageable but it would be years before it was fully rebuilt. The smaller segment without a command bridge would simply drift off into space along with the hundreds of thousands of officers, troopers and technical support crew on board, most of whom would perish in the cold vacuum of space.

The waste of sentient life angered Ren. When he'd been briefed on what had happened he had been tempted to cut his general down where he stood. But he'd had to control his rage, for now he needed Hux for his men, after such a calamity the troops would only accept Ren as their new supreme leader if their high commander did. It was assumed that Snoke had been killed during the collision. After this battle was done Ren could restructure the command of the First Order to his own liking and consolidate his power. On the journey down to Crait he'd thought more about Rey, about how he'd held out his hand to her and she'd shunned him. When she'd awoken on board _The Supremacy_ she must have seen him lying on the floor, unresponsive. _Did she check I was alive?_ _Did she even care?_

Even if she had bothered to check on him before fleeing she'd still left him for dead. Rey, the scavenger on Jakku who'd escaped on board the _Millennium Falcon_ with the map to Skywalker. Rey, the prisoner that had escaped him on _Starkiller_ base and then bested him in the snow. Rey, the Jedi he had killed Snoke for and fought the Praetorian guards with. Rey, the girl he had opened his heart to via their bond through the Force. _She told me I wasn't alone._ Now she'd fled back to the resistance he didn't know what would happen when he faced her again. _She rejected me, left me for dead and fled to my enemies. She will have to die_. Once more he felt conflicted. Would he be able to end her when the time came?

It wasn't long before the First Order forces breached the skies of Crait, reached its surface and began deploying their ground assault vehicles. Atmospheric assault carriers disengaged the AT-M6s suspended below them, falling under gravity for the last few metres to the ground and landing with a _boom_ like thunder. Upgraded from the destructive AT-ATs of the Empire, the AT-M6s stood twice as large and as broad with thicker armour, heavier cannons and more dextrous limbs. They formed up in a line on Crait's white salt plains, protecting the smaller troop transport and siege weapons being assembled behind, half a dozen massive four-legged armoured beasts. Above them hovered TIE fighters and bombers, forming up for attack, centred by Ren's command shuttle overseeing the battlefield ahead, wings raised vertically in the surface position.

Kylo Ren sat in the cockpit with General Hux standing on his left and the two pilots of the craft before him. On his other side stood two squadron captains in stormtrooper armour. He was wearing the same battle-scarred tunic he'd had in the throne room with a heavy black cape thrown over his broad shoulders. Once all the preparations had been made he ordered his forces onwards toward the old rebel base. Slowly it grew larger and larger on the horizon, an ugly brown tomb wedged into the mountains of the planet. Before it deep trenches had been dug into the salt plain, dotted here and there with low-range cannons and anti-aircraft defences. As they approached the thick blast door of the base lowered reluctantly, it had obviously been some time since the mechanism had been activated.

Before the shutter had fully lowered a row of craft sped forth from the base, trailing red spray from the bedrock surface of Crait. Ren had expected some resistance. He let Hux give the order for TIE fighters to go forth and do their work, watching from the cockpit. The resistance fighters had gaul going up against them in such small numbers and with poor provision but they were desperate now, fighting for every breath. It would make no difference, behind the wall of AT-M6s the turbo-battering ram was being prepared to annihilate the blast door of the base, leaving the rebels inside exposed and defenceless. Soon the resistance would be crushed. And then there was only Rey to deal with…

He focused on the battle. He needed to keep control of himself so that he could command his forces once this skirmish was over. The resistance weren't making much ground, just slowing the march of the AT-M6s, suddenly, out of nowhere there was a familiar engine sound and the TIE fighters were drawn off from the main battle in pursuit of….the _Millennium Falcon_. Shaken from his passivity Ren jumped up from his seat.

"Blast that piece of junk OUT OF THE SKY!" he commanded, pointing at his father's old ship.

The ship disappeared behind the rebel base along with a pursuit, something told him that today wouldn't see the end of the _Falcon_ , the ship seemed to fly eternal, which was more than he could say for the greatest ships of his own fleet. The thought disquieted him.

Soon enough the resistance's meagre defence was overwhelmed and the remaining craft turned tail and sped back to their base. The battering ram did its job and seared through the thick reinforced layers of the rebels' shield door, leaving a smoking ruin.

When it was done the crew in the cockpit fell silent, waiting.

"Full charge ahead," Ren spoke softly and precisely. "Destroy anything that emerges from that base and everything inside. No quarter."

The line of AT-M6s moved forward once more, with the shuttle following above. As the smoke cleared they could see that a large hole had been cracked through the centre of the thick blast door, the metal bent inwards as though it had been punched through by a giant fist. The trenches before the base had been abandoned and the last of the ancient rebel assault vehicles had disappeared inside the base. Before them nothing moved apart from the billowing smoke, dying down. Then it seemed there was a figure moving through the smoke. His features couldn't be made out properly from the distance Ren was at but he was cloaked and bearded, medium height, and on his belt….

"STOP!"

Ren bellowed the word as the thought crept into his mind. It couldn't be who he suspected though, it was impossible. He stepped right up to the controls of the shuttle and squinted through the window of the cockpit. It took him a few moments to be sure of who he was looking at.

"I want every weapon we have to fire on that man."

He spoke the words coolly but anger was flaring up inside him, a white-hot hatred mixed with more than a little fear. He had waited so long for this, trained his body and mind for this moment, had always known that the day would come when he would confront the man it all started with – Luke Skywalker. The hero, the Jedi, the legend that the galaxy loved more than all its other heroes. The man who had first taught him how to control his power, taught him to think, taught him to feel. The man he'd turned to when his absent father and royal mother had been too busy to care for their son. And the man who tried to slaughter him while he slept. He had admired his uncle Luke, hero-worshipped him like everyone else. It had made the betrayal the worst he'd felt in all his life. He hated Luke more than anyone.

"Weapons ready sir," the pilot informed him.

He barely paused: "Fire!"

A single blast exploded from his own shuttle and appeared to strike the ground directly where the cloaked figure had stood. Before the smoke could clear a barrage of cannon fire burst forth, the ground exploded in a 20 metre radius where all the fire power of the AT-M6s and the remaining TIE fighters was concentrated into the same small space. The surrounding earth became smeared with deep, shiny red, the ground below the salt he knew but from where he stood it could have been a giant spatter of blood.

"MORE!" demanded Ren.

The cannon fire kept going, a blaze of red light battering the land ahead, cannons booming as they exploded again and again, one after another.

"MORE!"

His rage burned inside him, he thought about Rey. She was the only person he'd told the truth about the night he'd burned the new Jedi temple to the ground, the night his uncle and teacher turned on him. The man so compassionate he'd refused to strike down even Darth Vader in anger hadn't given a moment's hesitation to swiping his lightsaber down on his sleeping nephew. Rey had understood, Rey had been the only one who truly cared about him. Now she was on the other side of those destroyed doors.

Hux had been getting uneasy ever since Ren had given the command for every single weapon to be fired on one man. His general moved forward, looking at him, Ren continued staring at the point at which all their firepower was being concentrated.

"That's enough," said Hux, speaking directly to Ren, when he didn't bother to reply he turned to the pilots. "THAT'S ENOUGH!"

The firing stopped. It took a few minutes for all the smoke to clear. The flat, salt-covered ground had been reduced to a huge, searing red crater, spattered all round with deep, shinning red, an open wound in the surface of Crait. Hux was looking at him sternly, Ren hadn't taken his eyes of the spot ahead since the cannons started firing. He saw something moving forward. Ren's eyes widened. _Impossible._ Luke walked forward from the smoke a few paces then stopped. There didn't seem to be a single mark on him, despite the fact he had just emerged from the scorched crater in the ground. From where he was standing it seemed to Kylo Ren that his uncle looked straight up at him, lifted a hand to his caped shoulder and brushed it off.

Ren couldn't resist letting out a single breath of disbelieving laughter. He stood staring for a few seconds and it seemed his uncle stared right back.

"Bring me down to him, keep the door covered and don't advance until I say," he said, finally.

"Supreme Leader, don't let yourself get distracted by – ARRRRGGHHH!"

Ren had no time at all for Hux's misgivings, with a single swipe of his arm he sent his general crashing horizontally into the wall of the cockpit. At the same time the pilot made to land the shuttle.

"Lowering you down now sir," he assured.

Ren left the cockpit and made his way to the exit ramp. His footsteps echoed off the metallic surroundings of the shuttle. As he walked thoughts whirled through his mind. He felt oddly calm, at peace. He had waited so long for this moment. It was his destiny. Luke Skywalker would die with the last of the resistance and he would become the new ruler of the galaxy. But he wasn't concerned with what came next. His mind was in his present, in the here and now. Luke had come to finish the job he'd started when Ben Solo had been a sixteen year old boy. The betrayal had forced him to grow, to embrace the darkness within him, to become Kylo Ren. Now he would make an end to this, to Luke Skywalker.

He was standing in front of the shuttle's exit ramp, silently waiting. He felt the thud of the shuttle as it hit the ground. His heart rate was only slightly faster than normal, his muscles relaxed and loose, his mind calm and controlled. The ramp lowered behind him, he turned and strode out, his cloak billowing as he walked down the ramp. The salt plain felt rough and the bedrock hard – a good texture for fighting. The salt scrunched below his boots as he walked toward the figure in the distance. The First Order forces waited silent and unmoving behind him. It took a few moments to cover the distance to Luke, his heart was beating faster now and the wind was blowing his black hair around his face.

Luke looked at him stoic as ever. His Master looked much the same as he had the last time he saw him, not much older, brown hair fading to grey, a beard covering his jaw. He stood silently, looking into Ren's eyes. To Ren it felt like a look of reproach and sadness. The same condescension he remembered from his days as a young Jedi apprentice.

"Did you come to _forgive_ me?" asked Ren, mockingly. "Did you come to save my soul?"

Luke shook his head and looked at him knowingly.

"No."

The anger spiked inside him and deep down there was something like sadness.

"Then you came to finish what you started when you turned on me," he said, waiting for a reaction, when none came he went on. "The day you tried to murder me in my sleep."

His old Master didn't say anything but had the dignity to look ashamed. Ren ignited his lightsaber, it crackled to life, cross-guard blazing. He shook off his cloak and let it fall behind him, freeing up his body. Luke drew his own lightsaber from his belt, Ben expected it to blaze emerald green but instead a blade of pearly blue hissed to life. Ren extended his arm and held his lightsaber out in front of him, pointing it at his opponent. He twisted his arm round and the blade twisted with it, marking Luke in his gaze. He saw Luke step into stance, one foot in front of the other, his body side-on, holding his lightsaber in front of him straight up, two-handed. There was silence other than a whistling wind and the hum and crackle of each of their lightsabers.

Ren charged. Luke stood his ground up till the last few feet, he made to move one way but then quickly side stepped the other, just wide of Ren's fierce swing of his lightsaber. Stopping a few feet behind where Luke was Ren steadied himself then turned and swung the other way with his blade but Luke was too far away. They stopped, faced each other again, swords raised. Facing him from the opposite side, Luke was framed by the line of AT-M6S towering in the distance, Ren watched him shift into another stance, bow his head and wait. Ren relaxed his grip, held his crackling lightsaber one handed and arched his back, ready to charge again. He paused for a heartbeat then ran, raised his sword, griped it two handed and swung it at his mentor's chest.

In a lightning-move Luke ran to meet the saber and at the last second arced his body backwards, lowering his body impossibly down so that the lightsaber passed hissing above him, right over his face. Luke swung his lightsaber to regain balance but didn't make a move to strike his nephew. He stood upright again and steadied himself after his superhuman dodge. Ren spun to face him again, flicking his long hair from his face, back in their original positions. He was irritated that Luke wasn't on the attack. _Is he trying to tire me out? He can't last long if he keeps up those kind of bodily manoeuvres._ _Or is he above killing his own blood now?_

As if sensing his thoughts Luke lowered his lightsaber into a neutral position.

"I have failed you Ben….I'm sorry," Luke Skywalker carried the sadness and disappointment of a lifetime in those final two words.

Ben could feel it. But he couldn't allow himself to be distracted, this man had tried to kill him when he was just a boy. His anger flared up once more.

"I'm sure you are!" he spat back. "The resistance is dead. The war is over. And when I kill you…I will have killed the last Jedi."

"Every word you just said _was wrong_ ," said Luke, the same way he used to lecture Ben when they were training. "The rebellion is reborn today. The war for the galaxy is just beginning and I….I am _not_ the last Jedi."

Ren's heart beat faster at the implications of his old uncle's words. For a moment Rey flashed in front of his eyes holding the lightsaber that had belonged to Luke and Anakin Skywalker. It was the same lightsaber the man in front of him held now. He swallowed.

"Then I'll kill her too," he said, looking his uncle in the eyes. When he felt himself faltering he carried on. "And I'll kill you. All of it."

Luke was shaking his head slowly. "No, you won't."

Ren gripped his lightsaber tightly. His uncle was staring at him, as if daring him to make a move, testing him. _Does he still think I'm a frightened child? Does he know what happened to his friend Han Solo?_ The thought of his father brought a cocktail of emotions to the surface of his thoughts. He tried to block them out but couldn't focus. He saw his father in front of him dying, reaching out. He tried not to feel but he couldn't stop it, Han Solo hadn't been much of a father but that didn't change the fact that he had been his father, and worse still that Ben knew that he had tried to be a father. He clenched his teeth and shut his eyes tight, as he did so he gripped his lightsaber in both hands at his side and charged. Luke Skywalker didn't make a move to dodge or defend himself as Kylo Ren swung his lightsaber down through his shoulder.

The momentum of his charge carried him on even after he'd sliced though his old master. Finally he stopped himself, breathing deeply. For a few seconds he paused, not daring to look back, if he looked back then it was done, there was no undoing what had just happened. He turned. His eyes went wide. Luke Skywalker stood upright without a mark on him. Ren could barely believe his eyes, he was frustrated but more than anything he was at a loss for explanation. _How?_ Then, for the first time during their encounter he felt the icy grip of fear tightening over his body. _If he can't be killed, what chance do I have?_

Something nagged at his mind, something he couldn't focus on but was there all the same. He suddenly became aware that he hadn't sensed his uncle's presence once since he had appeared, which was odd for a Jedi so powerful. Nor had Luke made a move to strike him throughout their duel and their lightsabers hadn't clashed even once. A mad thought came into Ren's head but he followed it through nonetheless. Slowly he walked towards Luke, pointing his lightsaber out in front of him. It went through his uncle's chest without a sound, Luke made no reaction, there was no smell of burning flesh. Nothing. Luke Skywalker had never been on Crait, not corporeally. Kylo lifted his head to look into Luke's eyes, understanding dawning on his face. Luke stared back and smiled knowingly.

"See you round kid," he said. The ghost in front of Ren vanished.

Kylo let his lightsaber arm fall to his side still ignited. With his uncle gone he stood facing the massed forces of the First Order, the AT-M6s seemed to be glaring down at him and he knew all the people inside were. He turned away quickly, seized by a sudden panic. He looked up at the abandoned rebel base. His uncle's shade couldn't have hurt him, couldn't have physically stopped him at all. But he had done something. He'd distracted him. His uncle had betrayed him once more, worse, he'd outwitted him.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Kylo Ren's scream echoed across the barren salt plains of Crait.

* * *

A squad of snowtroopers joined him from his landed shuttle as others began to disengage from the AT-M6s. Ren didn't have time to wait for the them, as soon as his personal guard reached him he made his way across the trenches and through the fracture in the blast door of the old rebel base. Hux protested but ultimately deferred to his new supreme leader. Grudgingly. Kylo lead the troops across the red-black bedrock on the other side of the blast door, moving swiftly with his snowtroopers marching quickly behind to keep pace. The cloak he'd replaced over his shoulders billowed as he advanced.

The base was empty, as he knew it would be. He'd only searched the entrance chamber of the base and it had been abandoned. There was no sign of life anywhere else. Nevertheless he gave the order for the troops to search the base from top to bottom for traitors, they spread out and were joined shortly after by reinforcements from outside. He closed his eyes tight and sighed deeply. He had been outmanoeuvred by his uncle. Skywalker had known exactly what he was doing, had known that Ren would rush to face him and in his haste he had allowed the rebels to slip through his fingers. He felt heavy, weighed down. His first mission as supreme leader, one that should've ended in the complete destruction of the resistance and the unrivalled ascendance of the First Order, had ended in failure.

He walked forlorn through the empty fortress. He wondered into a control room decked out with projector screens and consoles, rusted and long dead, old technology from another time. His eyes fell to the ground. Something shiny caught the light. He crouched down and reached for the object. It was a pair of golden dice bound by a small chain. He didn't recognise them but they seemed oddly out of place; clean, unweathered and shiny where everything else was dull, rusted and forgotten. As he stared down at them a new plane seemed to open up in his mind and he looked upward.

She was standing at the docking bay of the _Falcon_ , ushering resistance fighters inside. They thanked her as they hurried on board and she smiled and nodded at them. Her hair blew in long dark strands over her face. As the final person boarded the Falcon she looked down the ramp and something caught her eye. She paused and stared down at him. His eyes widened as he looked up at her from one knee. His heart was beating fast again. Neither of them spoke, they didn't need to. He stared up at the girl he loved. He knew that now. Then Rey's face changed, it was almost imperceptible but he still saw it, it became harder, more solemn. She reached up and pressed something inside the _Falcon_. The ramp raised itself up and sealed shut.

The image blurred and disappeared and suddenly he was back in the empty control room, staring up at a blank space on the wall. Alone. He opened his clenched hand and saw that the dice had slipped away and his hand was empty. The frustration at his duel with Luke, the duel he'd won but had ultimately been defeated in, seemed to fade. His anger at the escape of the resistance subsided. He thought about Rey as she'd stood on board the Falcon and tried to recall every detail of her. Nothing else mattered. But Rey was gone and Ben Solo was alone once more.


End file.
